Story of the Piece: The Quiet Glide

Manta rays move like silence — vast and weightless, skimming the ocean as if born from it. In The Quiet Glide, Michelle captures that sacred hush: the moment when time stills and beauty unfolds in slow motion.

This piece was inspired by a dive in Bali, where three manta rays swept past her in near-perfect synchrony. It wasn’t just their sheer size that moved her, but the grace — a kind of underwater dance that left her breathless and stilled. That awe lingered long after surfacing, and found its way into this sculpture.

Three hand-painted rays rise above a sea-washed driftwood base, carefully placed to glide together in eternal motion. Their wings tilt in gentle arcs, their rhythm unbroken. The driftwood itself was chosen for its flowing lines — textured like rippling water — as though the sea had shaped it with memory. Below, scattered coral and locally sourced shell evoke the quiet terrain of the reef.

The Quiet Glide asks nothing. It simply offers stillness — an invitation to remember the way your heart feels when beauty catches you off guard. For those who’ve been touched by these creatures, The Quiet Glide is a memory made visible. For others, it is an echo of the deep — a whisper from the reef to pause, to breathe, and to follow where the quiet leads.

Materials: Reclaimed driftwood, hand-painted manta rays, coral, shell, locally sourced stone, hand-finished base

Dimensions: 49 cm x 21 cm

POA